Evanescence
by Agent Operative
Summary: What happens when two Marines join the 141? Find out in "Evanescence." OC x OC


**Chapter 1 - Going Under**

"Welcome to the Force, FNG." I finally made it. I was one of them now. The man I stood in front motioned for his assistant to help me to the last available dorm on base. I didn't see him rise out of the darkened corner of the room, which made me a little fearful. He had a mask and sunglasses on to boot.

"By the way, the name's MacTavish", the familiar English accent cooed. The mohawked man waved both of us off, teasing me by telling the masked stranger to "not scare" me. I threw a quick look at the masked man, who was making his way towards the door.

"Come on mate, I won't bite." Another jokster, great. I grabbed my duffel bag and followed at a distance behind this new man. As we turned into another corridor, he told me that his callsign was "Ghost", and that I should only call him that. This made me a little suspicious, but I discounted it as just being me. 'Probably because of the nuke', I thought to myself. We continued down the corridor and stopped at the last door. I could faintly hear Evanescence's "Going Under" through the wooden door.

"So you guys meant the last cot on this base", I chuckled. Ghost only shook his head, a goofy smile growing under his mask. He racked the door a couple of times and waited for a response.

"Come on in." I was taken aback. The voice was feminine, which only meant one thing. 'My girlfriend is going to kill me!' I tried to push the thought out of my head and followed Ghost into the room. In the room were two cots. Both were placed oppisite each other next to a wall, but one of them held a small figure. I found my place on the far side of the room, near the window. Ghost had already left by the time I set my duffel bag down. Not a good sign.

"And who do we have here?" I turned around to see the small feminine figure standing right in my face. I nearly flushed, but I held my composure.

"P-Private Roman Helius. U.S. Marines." I mentally kicked myself for stuttering my rank. Her deep blue pools were boring a hole into me, and I felt nearly sick. 'What the hell is going on with me? Oh right, I have a girlfriend.' The girl's hand extended out, and I was hesistant to grab it. But for formalities' sake, I did so.

"Nice to meet you Roman. I'm Private Cooper, U.S. Marines as well." I felt some relief spill off of me as she said "Marines as well." At least I had a companion with the same background in this forsaken mountain base. We shook hands and kept looking at each other for a moment. There was something about her that I liked, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I returned to my cot to continue unpacking, but was hit in the head with a soft object.

"Grenade", she teased playfully. I smiled goofily and returned to unpacking my fatigues and other essentials.

"Thanks", I said sarcastically.

-[]-[]-

The rec room was quiet at this hour, 1 AM to be exact. I sat in one of the couches, relishing the comfort. I wanted to read one of my books while the others settled into their bunks, which could be quite noisy sometimes. The moonlight provided enough light for me to read. Good thing we had sky lights. The base looked peaceful as I stared through the wall-high glass panes.

"How I miss her", I said to myself. The book ached for me to turn it's page. I do so. The words were becoming meaningless to me, so I stopped reading beyond that point. I roamed my mind for something to do with the energy that I had.

"The range in the underground compound." I flipped my book closed and slid it into one of my pants' storage pockets. I'd always liked to shoot guns. It cleared my mind and allowed me to focus. That's how I got my expert riflemanship and pistoleer qualifications. My boots made a hard knock as I stepped down the stairwell. I cringed, hoping no one heard. As I etched myself down to the second step, a loud report echoed out of the firing range. I cursed myself, remembering some of the members liked to clear their minds too. I climbed down the rest of the steps and reached the range lobby. The next shot was much louder, sounding like a forty-five going off in a metal box. I quickly sifted one of the boxes and pulled out a pair of shooting muffs. I didn't want to lose my hearing this early. I was at ease when the next report was more muffled and less sharp. I began to wonder who was in there shooting. Ghost or MacTavish? One of the other personnel on base? I walked over to the peg wall and reviewed my options. I opted for a pistol myself, which required more of my concentration. Anything would work at this point.

"Is that you Roman?" I stopped in my tracks. That voice. The soft, quiet- Wait. Did I just say that? Oh no. I opened my mouth, but my whole throat became dry.

"Yep", I sad through a raspy tone, "Is that you Cooper?" I kept my gaze straight, preventing myself from saying something else about her that my girlfriend would be jelous of.

"Yep", she mimiced. We both laughed, mine still being a bit gritty. I relaxed and let myself look in her direction. Her dark hair and radiant skin glowed in the cones of light beaming from what seemed to be the heavens. I cursed myself again before putting on my sheepish grin.

"What's the matter?" she poked at me. Oh crap. She knows. What do I do?

"Oh nothing, just thinking about that someone at home." She didn't say anything, but responded with two rounds that pierced the target's chest. I looked over to her and saw the redness in her eyes. Her features seemed more pale since I came into the room. Was I the problem?

"I think I'm done for the night Rome." Her expression was one of longing. Maybe I had reminded her of her boyfriend or something. Another kick in the brain.

"Well, let's go turn in then", I replied. Cooper nodded at me and we both cleared our weapons. I offered to go put them back on the peg wall, when she dopily dropped her handgun in my other hand. Oh, she's good- Damn it all! 'Stop it Roman', I thought to myself, 'You have a girlfriend!' She waited for me by the stairwell, how nice of her. I joined up with her and we headed up. It kind of felt akward walking with her.

"Roman", she whispered, stepping in front of me to stop my advance. She looked up at, we had differential heights. My mind was filled with questions as she came a bit closer. 'My god. She's even more beau- Roman!' "Rome, you look handsome in the moonlight." 'Did she just compliment me? I better respond before something slips.'

"Coop, you look beautiful in the moonlight- I-I mean thank you." I slapped myself on the forehead for saying that. When I looked at her, she was laughing uncontrollably.

"Did you? Did you just try to hit on me?" she said after gaining some oxygen. I could only rub my head in embarrassment. I let out a meekly chuckle and nodded. 'Why can't my girl be like Cooper here?' She patted my head and returned to my side.

"You know Cooper, I think you're really tired. Let's get you to your bunk." She nodded and we headed out once more. The barracks we're quiet as we entered, the only noise being the light, and some heavy, snoring of the people in their bunks. We followed the corridors together until we reached our room.

"Here we are", Cooper said triumphantly. I let out a breathe in agreement. My new home. I opened the door for her and let her inside. I checked over my shoulder to make sure no one was spying, which I couldn't find. I entered the room next and shut the door behind me. I came face to face with her again.

"Let me guess, you need to be tucked in", I teased. She giggled that giggle. 'Damn it.' She went over to the cot that was decorated with a nicely woven blanket and a peculiar picture. 'Wonder what that is.' It was too dark to see it, it was black and white for sure, so it would have to wait 'til morning. She plopped down on her cot and pulled the covers over her form, fatigues and boots still attached to their owner. I proceeded to tuck the blanket under her, taking care to keep away from the "forbidden zones".

"Missed a spot", she giggled. She wiggled her boots, which we're free from the ruffled cover. I stretched down and pulled the blanket over them, effectively hiding them from sight. I return to a standing position to meet her gaze. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. And just like that, I crouched down and pecked her forehead. Her eyes slowly opened up to look at me.

"Sorry, I'm just used to doing that", I said quickly standing up and rubbing my head. She smiled happily and mouthed a "Thank You". I went to my cot and laid down on top of my blanket, boots and clothing still on. I flipped myself so I could view the smaller, sleeping figure on the other side of the room. My mind began to wander, and I questioned my relationship with my grilfriend. Call me old-fashioned, but I like complimenting and receiving compliments, which my girlfriend rarely did. Cooper did that, accepted my tuck-ins, and liked to be around me. I was stirred when I heard that voice call my name. I bolted up and leeped to the other side of the room.

"What's the matter Cooper?" I was worried. Is something wrong with her? I ached a bit. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Nothing,I just... Can you sleep next to me tonight?" I nodded and grabbed my lone pillow. I plopped down on the ground next to her cot and laid looking up. She freed her arm and leaned over the side of her bed.

"Happy?" I asked. She let her hand come down onto my head and began running her fingers through my hair.

"Very", she said quietly. We both chuckled and sighed. Maybe we both missed our partners.


End file.
